Jury selection to begin for trial of Punta Gorda chief

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. Jury selection begins Friday in the first trial stemming from the August 2016 citizens police academy shooting.

At least a hundred people will be pooled to seat six jurors, plus alternates, tasked with deciding the fate of Police Chief Tom Lewis, who’s charged with culpable negligence in the death of retired librarian Mary Knowlton.

Lewis is on paid administrative leave while the case is being adjudicated. Lee Coel, who shot Knowlton and who was fired from the police department earlier this year, is months away from his own trial on a felony first-degree manslaughter charge.

The high-profile nature of the shooting presents a challenge, Knowlton’s son said.

“I find it hard to believe that there’s going to be six people that haven’t heard about this case,” Steve Knowlton said.

Some in Charlotte County agree.

“I think the opinions are pretty definitive one way or the other,” Spencer Curtis said. “It’s very hard to find a neutral ground.”

Still, as well-known as the case may be, Nancy Cromley believes suitable jurors are out there.

“I don’t think it will be that hard to find people, because I don’t think a lot of people pay that much attention to what they see on TV,” she said.